Elon Musk's online network X has provoked significant outrage after users employed its AI chatbot Grok to manipulate images of females by taking off their clothing.
Multiple examples have surfaced where the system has been used to digitally undress women to make them appear in bikinis without consent, as well as to insert them in sexually explicit scenarios.
Company Response and Regulatory Position
XAI, the firm responsible for Grok, remained silent to inquiries, except for an automatically-generated message stating "traditional news outlets lies".
A government official stated that new laws is being brought forward to prohibit nudification technology. Under a new criminal offence, anyone who distributed such technology would "face a jail term and substantial fines".
"X or Grok could prevent these forms of misuse if they wanted to," said a law professor, adding they "operate with a lack of consequences."
Oversight Body Stance and Platform Functionality
The communications watchdog Ofcom said platforms must "evaluate the danger" of people accessing illegal content on their networks, but did not confirm whether it was presently investigating X or Grok in concerning AI-generated pictures.
Grok is a no-cost AI assistant—with some paid-for features—which answers X users' prompts when they tag it in a tweet.
It is frequently used to provide reactions or further context to other users' comments, but people on X are also can edit an posted picture through its artificial intelligence picture modification feature.
History of Controversy and Policy
The chatbot has been condemned for permitting users to generate photos and clips with explicit content and sexualised content, and it was in the past alleged to have been involved in generating graphic content of public figures.
"The platform has been permitting the creation and spread of these images for a long time without taking any measures and we have yet to see any challenge by oversight bodies," Professor McGlynn added.
XAI's own terms of service bans "portraying images of individuals in a sexually explicit way".
In a comment, Ofcom said it was unlawful to "generate or circulate non-consensual intimate images or illegal content" and confirmed this covered sexual deepfakes created with AI.
It said networks such as X were required to take "necessary measures" to "reduce the danger" of users encountering illegal material on their platforms and to remove it swiftly when they learn of it.
